Marine Biological Laboratory Water Street Woods Hole, MA 02543

The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is an independent, non-profit research and educationalinstitution and America's oldest private marine lab.

Since the Laboratory was founded in 1888, MBL summer investigators and advanced students from the U.S. and abroad have used the diverse and abundant marine organisms found in surrounding waters asmodel systems for exploring fundamental life processes. In addition to serving as the summer home ofAmerican biology, the MBL hosts major year-round research programs in cell and developmental biology,ecosystems studies, molecular evolution, neuro-biology, and sensory physiology. The MBL is also host tothe Boston University Marine Program and the University of Pennsylvania's Laboratory for Aquatic Animal Medicine and Pathology.

Today, the laboratories of the MBL, together with those of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, theNational Marine Fisheries Service, and the U.S. Geological Survey, make the village of Woods Hole a world center for biological and oceanographic research. Other members of the local scientific communityinclude the National Academy of Sciences Conference Center, the Sea Education Association, and the Woods Hole Research Center.

See:

• The Marine Resources Center
• Scientific Support Services
• Journals published at the MBL
• How to get to the MBL
• The MBLWHOI Library

Since its founding in 1888, the Marine Biological Laboratory has evolved froma summer research and educational institution to one whose research andeducational activities involve a variety of seasons and users. Today the MBLcontinues to host investigators from scores of research institutionsworldwide who come to the Laboratory during the summer months to do theirresearch. The MBL also hosts an active year-round research program, whichconsists of investi-gators whose primary institutional affiliation is withthe MBL, as well as organizations that lease space from the Laboratory (thelargest of which is the Boston University Marine Program).

Researchers have gathered at the MBL every summer for over 100 years. Theycontinue to be drawn to Woods Hole and the Laboratory in large part becauseof the diverse and abundant marine life available in local waters that serveas excellent model systems for understanding basic biological processes.These scientists leave their home institutions for months at a time to leaselaboratory space at the MBL to work in such fields as biochemistry,biophysics, cell biology, developmental biology, ecology, genetics,molecular biology, neurobiology, and physiology. During the summer of 1996,the MBL hosted approximately 650 investigators and course faculty fromaround the world.For more information see

• The Year round research laboratories
• The summer research laboratories

Summer Courses havebeen a central part of the Laboratory's mission since its founding more thana century ago. The opportunity for exchange with members of the summerresearch community, as well as for intensive individual research, makesthese programs unique in science education.

Summer courses last from six to nine weeks, and consist of formal lectures integrated with laboratoryinstruction and research. Laboratories emphasize the application of the mostcurrent techniques.

Short Courses areintensive educational programs, one to four weeks long, that provideexperience in specialized research techniques, or are lecture and laboratorycourses in topics of current interest. Generally, these courses are designedfor graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and other professionalsactively engaged in research. Course applications areavailable here in online & PDF format. Contact the Admissions Office via E-mail or Telephone: (508) 289-7401.

See the MBL Guide to Research and Education for faculty information.

The MBL is located in the village of Woods Hole, Massachusetts.